Top Dem: $33T Medicare for All Price Tag ‘A Little Scary’

“I think the $33 trillion price tag for Medicare for all is a little scary,” the chair of the DCCC said.

By NTK Staff | 03.06.2019 @9:21am

It turns out it’s not just Republicans who are concerned about the latest House Democrats’ bill getting lots of attention. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), the newly installed chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), told The Hill that the massive price tag associated with the bill is “a little scary.”

“The ‘Green New Deal’ is an idea. ‘Medicare for all’ is an idea. But there are many others that are out there,” Bustos said before adding, “I think the $33 trillion price tag for Medicare for all is a little scary.”

Bustos is far from the first top Democrat to voice concern about some of the pricey policies for which House Democrats are advocating. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mangled the name last month, calling it the “Green Dream.” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said he asked Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), the lead sponsor of the Green New Deal, “What in the heck is this?”

But on the Medicare for All front, Democrats running for president in 2020 have been forceful advocates. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) made headlines in January when she admitted that her support for the legislation would mean eliminating the private health insurance industry in America. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) went so far as to call that move an “urgent goal.”

The problem for these Democrats is that once Americans are made aware of the price tag and the massive changes that would be involved in adopting Medicare for All, polling shows that support plummets.

And not every Democrat in Congress is sold on Medicare for All. One anonymous House Democrat called Medicare for All proponents “extremists” in an interview with The Hill last week.